Taiwanese Military Analyst Worries Over China's Use
of Israeli Drone: Could play pivotal role in China's invasion of Taiwan

Taipei Times

Wednesday, Jun 22, 2005, Page 3

AP , TAIPEI: Israeli-made drone aircraft at the heart of a fierce
political row between Israel and the US are likely to be a key element of any
Chinese invasion of Taiwan, a Taiwanese military analyst said yesterday.

The US has imposed a series of tough military sanctions against
Israel to pressure it to confiscate "Harpy" drone aircraft parts that
China returned to state-owned manufacturer Israel Aircraft Industries last year.

Israel says the return was for routine maintenance, but Washington contends
it was for an important technological upgrade. Israeli military officials have
said work on the Harpy deal has been frozen.

With a range of 500km, the Harpy has the ability to locate and destroy enemy
radar facilities. US officials fear China could use it to compromise the defense
of Taiwan and endanger US military forces in the Pacific.

Milton Liao of the Council of Advanced Political Studies said the Harpy could
be used in a Chinese invasion of Taiwan to destroy the nation's radar capabilities
-- including those on its Patriot anti-missile system -- as part of gaining
air superiority over the Taiwanese military.

Once air superiority was obtained, he said, the way would be cleared for a
full-scale Chinese invasion across the Taiwan Straits.

The Harpy operates by overflying enemy air defenses, identifying the location
of enemy radar installations through the electronic signals they emit, and then
destroying them with a 32kg explosive payload.

Liao said the Harpy's effectiveness is enhanced by its small size -- it is
only 2.1m long with a wingspan of 2.7m -- which makes it difficult for enemy
radar to detect, allowing it to loiter around potential targets for extended
periods of time.

He said that in any Chinese invasion of Taiwan it would be far more important
than the other main anti-radar weapon in the Chinese inventory, the J-5, an
aging MiG-type aircraft transformed by Chinese technicians into an unmanned
drone vehicle in 2002.

A former US government official with long experience analyzing the Chinese
military backed Liao's analysis. The official spoke on condition of anonymity
because of the sensitivity of the information. Taiwanese military officials
declined to comment on the Harpy controversy.

Earlier this month, Israeli officials and media reports said the US had imposed
a series of tough sanctions on the Israeli arms industry since the beginning
of the year, escalating tensions between the two allies over Israeli military
sales to China.